Sweden Defies US Over Ban Treaty

Sweden is openly resisting pressure from the US and NATO to prevent it from signing the UN Nuke Ban Treaty, the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Although Sweden is not a member of NATO it co-operates with the Alliance in joint exercises. Their refusal to be bullied by the US may be yet another sign that states in NATO or closely aligned with it could take an independent line over the Ban Treaty and the Alliance’s current nuclear strategy, on the basis that a nuclear weapon posture is not an essential element in the treaty obligations of NATO members.